Rob Tuvey is fully confident in the depth of Wimbledon's squad heading into a match at Charlton when the Dons are likely to make changes.
Our Assistant Manager was encouraged by the impact of Wimbledon's substitutes in the 2-1 win at the Keepmoat Stadium on Saturday, strengthening belief in the squad options available.
In Tuesday night's Carabao Cup first round tie, The Dons could face a player who made a key contribution in retaining our League One status - George Dobson - but Rob is pleased with the options we now have in the midfield engine room.
“First of all, I think we have to thank ‘Dobbo’ for all his efforts last season," said Rob. "He’s someone who we openly said that we tried to get back, but he chose to go to Charlton, and we wish him all the best.
“With the options we’ve got in midfield, it is really healthy competition. On Saturday we were able to make changes and we were able to maintain and raise the standards within the middle of the pitch, so that’s what we want to do throughout the squad. For any player on the bench or out of the squad, when they do get their chance they must maintain or raise the standards.
“Potentially, a few people will come into the team, but the nucleus of the squad is there. If you looked at the bench on Saturday you could see that we had match-winners throughout the squad. We have two people for every position almost, so we know that the strength in depth is really good, and we trust that any of the players that come in will maintain the standards."
Our supporters roared the Dons onto victory in South Yorkshire on Saturday - and Rob is expecting more fantastic backing at the Valley.
“I thought the fans were absolutely magnificent on Saturday – they didn’t stop singing from the first whistle," added Rob. "I’ve been in that away end at Charlton, and the atmosphere our fans can create is something special. Hopefully, they were excited with what they saw on Saturday, and there will be plenty more to come.
“They have got players that can hurt you using different formations, so we will be prepared for that. We’ve done our homework on them, the analysis guys have worked really hard, as they do for every game, and we will be well prepared for this one.
“It’s a London derby, it’s a game that we want to go there and put our stamp on, so that we can progress in the competition. The lads understand that every time they put on the Wimbledon shirt it means something and no competition is prioritised over another. We want to keep building the momentum after Saturday.”
Click on the link below to listen to Rob Cornell's full interview with our Assistant Manager.